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This blog aims to keep staff and students in the fields of Ancient History, Greek & Latin, Papyrology and Archaeology informed about the resources in UCL Library. It includes regular info on new books, databases, events, websites, and anything else of interest.

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Ancient World Studies at UCL Libraries

Introduction

The aim of this leaflet is to introduce new students studying Classics (including Papyrology), Classical Archaeology, Ancient History and Egyptology to the library resources at UniversityCollege. For general information about the Library, maps, instructions on how to use Explore (a one-stop search service for our printed and electronic resources) and further details on electronic databases please consult the relevant guides which are available at the Library’s enquiry desks, the Library’s web pages (see above for link) or ask – library staff are there to help you get the most out of using UCL Libraries so please do ask for help if you need it.

The importance of consulting Explore when checking reading lists etc. cannot be stressed too highly: this will enable you to ascertain the precise location of material and whether the item is on loan or not. Explore can be consulted on any of the UCL Library Services web pages as well as from dedicated machines in the Library and once “signed-in” using your UCL ISD username and password you will be able to make reservations, renew books, request items from store, order material on inter library loan as well as check your library record details.

When the prefixes CLASSICS, PAPYROLOGY, ANCIENT HISTORY, YATES (Classical Archaeology) or EGYPTOLOGY are indicated in the location statement, the material will be found on the open shelves (i.e. you will be able to find it yourself). Volumes that are housed in the Library’s closed access stores will not have this prefix and will have to be ordered by clicking on the “Place request” button. The addition of the term QUARTOS or FOLIOS to a prefix, e.g. PAPYROLOGY QUARTOS is to distinguish those volumes that are larger than average and are shelved in a separate sequence.

Classics, Papyrology & Ancient History

Readers will find the above subjects in three reading rooms adjoining the North Corridor of the Main Library. The ANCIENT HISTORY section concentrates especially on Greek & Roman history of the early & classical periods, but also has important sections on Near Eastern history, Byzantine history and the history of the early Christian Church. The history of Egypt in the Hellenic and Roman eras is covered too but students should also use the EGYPTOLOGY section of the Library (see below) especially for earlier and Pharaonic periods. It should be noted however that the works of the ancient historians will be found in the appropriate sections of the CLASSICS library.

The CLASSICS prefix indicates books on Classical studies generally as well as Greek and Latin language and literature. The collection includes the following series of Greek and Latin texts:

The Loeb Classical Library (the original text with a parallel English translation) (CLASSICS GD 30 & LD 30)

These series are shelved en bloc. For the main sequences, the classification system allows for an alphabetical order by ancient author, with editions followed by literary and textual criticism, biography, etc. The Library also holds several copies of: Liddell & Scott’s Greek Lexicon (CLASSICS QUARTOS GB 2 LID) and Lewis & Short’s Latin Dictionary (CLASSICS LB 2 LEW). For details of all publications on any aspect of Classical studies an indispensable reference work is: L’Année Philologique (CLASSICS Pers) a critical and analytical bibliography published annually which also contains a useful list of abbreviations applied to journals in this field – now also available in electronic format.

The PAPYROLOGY collection is especially strong in texts, studies and series relating to the decipherment of ancient papyri, e.g.: The Oxyrhynchus papyri (PAPYROLOGY PA 340 OXY)

This section in the Main Library also houses those journals with the prefixes CLASSICS Pers & PAPYROLOGY Pers, with a display unit for the most recent parts. We also hold many more in electronic form (e-journals) – see http://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/ejournal/index.shtml

Classical Archaeology (Yates) & Egyptology

These collections are located in the Instituteof Archaeology Library, 31-34 Gordon Square(5th floor). Material on the subject of classical archaeology has the prefix YATES in honour of James Yates, an antiquarian and collector whose will provided for the founding of the present collection. Its strengths include a large number of excavation reports from the main Greek and Roman sites (e.g. Delphi, Samos, Delos, Olympia and Pompeii) and many important series such as: Corpus vasorum antiquorum (CVA) (YATES QUARTOS P 12) and Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae (LIMC) (YATES QUARTOS A 2 LEX)

The EGYPTOLOGY section is also known as the “Edwards Library” having been established through a bequest of Amelia Edwards, a popular novelist, explorer and patron of Sir Flinders Petrie. This very important collection covers all aspects of Egyptology (including Coptic studies) and includes publications and excavation reports produced by such institutions as the Institut français d’archéologie orientale du Caire and the Egypt Exploration Society.

Journals covering classical archaeology and Egyptology will be found within theInstituteofArchaeology’s alphabetical sequence of journals.

Electronic Resources

MetaLib is UCL Library’s gateway to a range of electronic resources available from any machine connected to the Internet. It can be used to identify resources relevant to a particular area of research or study, and it can be used to “ExpertSearch” groups of these resources. Resources accessible through MetaLib include: abstracting and indexing databases, electronic journals, library catalogues, image databases, guides to internet resources, reference resources such as encyclopedias and dictionaries. MetaLib also offers personalization features. You can save search results, save searches, set up alerts and create groups of “favourite” resources for cross-searching. Material held in electronic form is available to registered members of UCL: you will usually need your UCL ISD username and password in order to gain access to them.

The College Library also holds other subject collections which may be relevant to those studying the Ancient World: these are History of Art, Celtic, Comparative Philology, Jewish Studies, History (Medieval & Modern), Law (including Roman Law), Palaeography and Philosophy. Other aspects of archaeology, e.g. Mediterranean (especially of the Bronze Age), Roman Britain and scientific methods in archaeology will be found at the Institute of Archaeology Library in Gordon Square.